[2] The introduction likens the "cross-talk" occurring in the brain producing synesthetic experiences to weather patterns in coastal regions where there are no barriers and all of the elements interact.

The potential benefits of synesthesia are expanded on, including its correlation with eidetic memory and experience of a wider ranger of color.

In interviews related to the book Cytowic has discussed the evolutionary purpose synesthesia, whether it is an adaptive product of natural selection or is more like a kind of spandrel.

Cytowic also suggested synesthesia could be expressed in non-sensory parts of the brain (e.g. memory, planning and moral reasoning) increasing creativity in related to those subjects as well.

Conversely the increased communication could be expressed even more diffusely in the brain resulting in a generalized talent for connecting apparently unrelated topics.